The Boy in the Mirror
by Crimson Breeze
Summary: She looks at him and she sees a distorted version of herself. It just isn't fair. None of it is. All she can think is that she doesn't want him to go through what she went through. All she wants to do is help him. Sequel to Fleeting Hope. Tyler/Caroline
1. Triggered

AN: So pretty much everyone that reviewed _Fleeting Hope_ asked me to continue it. I had this idea before I got the one for _Fleeting Hope_ but I think it'll make a good sequel. To anyone that has read my other Forwood fics, I'm just wondering, do you guys think they have cliff hanger-ish endings? This is my first multi-chapter fic. I hope you like it.

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><p>To say that Caroline is proud would be an understatement. She isn't sure what the proper words to describe her feelings for herself right now are but she is sure that it exceeds simply being <em>proud<em>. She is immensely pleased with herself. She should be given an award. Seriously, Damon can never call her useless or stupid ever again because tonight, she did it! She is the one that made everything work and she is damn pleased with herself.

Katherine is out of their hair for good. They're all free. It seems too good to be true but it is. All of their problems are over. They're all free from the evil bitch and now they can go on dealing with less life threatening problems. She wonders if Stefan and Damon have killed her yet. She wonders if Damon will want to drag it out and torture her first. It sounds like Damon but then again… maybe he just wants to get it over with before she can get the upper hand like she always manages to somehow.

No. Not this time.

Besides, Stefan is there. And the hard part's over. The three of them are locked in the room and they can't get out until Bonnie brings down her invisible vampire barrier thingy. It's two against one. Katherine can't hurt anyone because there's no one around for her to hurt. Stefan and Damon will look out for each other. One won't let her kill the other. It's all gonna be okay.

She's so giddy that she practically bounces down the stairs.

Free. Free. Free.

She's finally free. No more having to worry about running into the homicidal dopple ganger of her best friend when she goes out to lunch. No more being forced to do things she doesn't wanna do. No more having to spy on Stefan and Elena and be a horrible friend. No more death threats to Matt's life or to her own life.

This night is perfect!

Laughter comes out of her in giggles as she reaches the bottom of the stairs. She'll never have to see Katherine ever again.

_I'm free._

The phrase runs on repeat in her head. She had been so afraid that she would never be able to pull this off. But she had. She feels accomplished. She feels good.

Life is good.

She feels as light as air and she's walking on sunshine as she decides to finally let herself enjoy this party and this beautiful night for just a little bit because it is getting late and everyone is going to be gone soon and she wants to just be normal for the rest of this night because she can be. No more worrying about people dropping dead. She's _happy_.

And then she hears it.

It sounds like a struggle. Grunts and the sound punches connecting with flesh.

"Get off me!"

She stops in her tracks and turns her head in the direction of where the yell came from.

Tyler? That's Tyler. He's fighting with someone. But who? Her happiness quickly gives way to alarm as she realizes the grunts of the person that isn't yelling is Matt. Why the hell is Tyler fighting Matt?

She doesn't wait to find out because it's Matt and it's Tyler and _god_! _Why_ do they have to fight so much?

It doesn't matter. She just has to stop them. Whatever it is, she might be able to get them to talk it out and not avoid each other for weeks if she stops it right now. She doesn't want them to be mad at each other and she doesn't want either of them getting hurt. So, in a way that is completely different from her previous sunshine bounce, she practically shoves through the crowd of people as she makes her way to the more secluded part of the house where the sounds are coming from.

Her first view into the room shows her Tyler barely landing a right hook to Matt's jaw and then they both grab each other, each one trying to get the upper hand. He looks angry and Matt looks determined.

"What is going on? Stop!"

Now, Caroline does break into a run as adrenaline and worry kick in at the same time and she shouts out as she quickly grabs Matt who she can reach before Tyler and pulls him off, shoving him away to put distance between the two.

Matt is sent towards the other end of the room as Tyler stumbles backward slightly from her suddenly intrusion into their fight. He looks a little confused and surprised to see her but Caroline barely notices and doesn't have time to dwell on it because Matt is already back on his feet and he lunges for Tyler again.

"Stop!" she orders again as she plants her heeled feet firmly and stretches out her arm, effectively stopping Matt from advancing any further with just her open palm pushed against his chest. Immediately, his hands are around her wrist trying to pry her hand away from him.

She reaches out her other arm and presses her hand against Tyler's chest as he tries to get closer. He stops then and makes no attempt to move closer to his friend who is trying his best to dislodge Caroline's fingers from around his shirt.

"I can't!" Matt tells her as he fights against her grip. Caroline frantically turns her head from Matt to Tyler and back again, her hair whipping around her as Tyler tries to lean forward looking concerned.

"Let me go, I have to finish!" Matt's yelling at her now and Caroline begins to panic because both of their heartbeats are accelerated and she can smell the blood rushing through their veins.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Tyler asks and Caroline thinks he sounds almost desperate. Matt doesn't seem to hear the distress and confusion is his friend's voice however.

"LET ME GO!" he screams at Caroline. This gets her attention and she stops looking at Tyler and her head whips around so that she can stare shocked at Matt because she's never heard him sound like this before.

"What?" her words come out sounding raspy from her shock and she sees his face. She's stunned.

Matt's usually calm and gentle face is twisted with something she doesn't recognize. He isn't even looking at her. His eyes are locked on Tyler as he glares at his friend through grit teeth, still trying to pry himself out of Caroline's hold.

Something's wrong. Matt doesn't act like this. Matt is usually the one pulling Tyler off of other people. Matt is supposed to be the reasonable one out of the two. But he's looking at Tyler – _his best friend, Tyler_- like he literally wants to kill him.

This isn't Matt. It's not Matt talking, Caroline realizes. It's a compelled Matt. It's Katherine.

The combination of this possibility and the look on Matt's face cause Caroline to push him back slightly and as he tries to lunge forward again, she jerks her arm up and ends up elbowing him square in the nose.

He stumbles backwards and falls flat on his back and he doesn't move. Caroline lets out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and quickly looks at Tyler to make sure he isn't going to attack his friend again and she quickly turns her attention back to the boy on the floor when Tyler does nothing but look from Matt's fallen form on the floor to her with a dumbfounded eyes and an open mouth.

She ignores him as the tangy smell of blood fills the air and she turns away from him quickly making her way over to the bleeding boy on the floor.

"Matt?" she calls out, feeling scared and hoping she hasn't hurt him too badly.

She falls to her knees next to him and pats his head in an effort to wake him up. He looks unconscious but the bleeding isn't rapid and his nose doesn't appear to be broken. She sighs out half in relief and half in concern.

"Matt?" she questions again as she tries to ignore the blood that is dripping out of his nostril.

"How did you…" Tyler begins as he very slowly edges closer to them but something else catches Caroline's attention.

"Matt failed." Sarah deadpans, sounding very much like she's on some kind of mission.

"And if Matt fails, I can't."

What? Confused, Caroline turns her head to look at Sarah. What is she talking about? Failed at what? And then she sees the sharp silver glint in the dim light of the lamp as Sarah stalks toward Tyler.

"Tyler, look out!" she screams just as Sarah raises her arm up into the air.

Tyler whirls around just as Sarah jabs her weapon into his chest, right above his heart. With a grunt he pushes her backward and Caroline smells his blood bubbling out of his open chest before she hears a cracking sound as Sarah's head connects with the desk behind her and she too falls to the floor, and stills.

Tyler doesn't spend much time inspecting his wound. He pulls his bloody hand away from his bleeding chest and quickly falls to his knees next to Sarah when she doesn't open her eyes or attempt to get up.

"No, no, no. Come on, wake up. Sarah. Sarah, open your eyes, wake up." She's never heard him sound sofrantic. Or sounds scared.

She can understand why though. She sucks in a breath as she slowly stands up.

"Oh my god." Her words come out as just a whisper as everything suddenly clicks and realization hits her.

"This can't happen." He says.

"This can't happen! Thais can't be happening. Sarah! Sarah, get up!" he demands but he sounds more desperate than anything else.

Caroline can hear Tyler's rapidly beating heart but she can't hear Sarah's. Sarah's heart has just stopped.

"Sarah! Open your eyes!" he's practically begging now.

"Oh, God. Oh, this can't be happening!" he says as he pushes himself up and distances himself from Sarah's body on the floor.

Caroline walks slowly toward the body hoping that she's wrong and maybe she just needs to get closer to hear it. Tyler's head shakes from side to side as he looks from Caroline to Sarah looking more panicked then she has ever seen him in her life.

She kneels next to Sarah and she presses her fingers against the girls exposed neck, feeling for a pulse. She tries to block out the sound of Tyler's rapid heartbeat and ragged breathing as she concentrates on finding a pulse and hearing Sarah's heartbeat. But she can feel the blood cooling beneath her fingertips. It's not rushing through her veins anymore. It's at a stand-still. Sarah's dead.

Sarah's dead and Tyler's freaking out.

Jeremy's words echo in hear head again.

"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn."

She closes her eyes sadly hoping this doesn't mean what she thinks it means.

"Tyler?" she says hesitantly but he doesn't answer her. A pained sounds escapes him and as she looks up at him he falls to the floor clutching his chest. His heart is beating faster and louder than Caroline thinks is possible or healthy. His breathing is labored as he pounds his fist into the floor.

"Tyler?" she asks again, her fear rising.

"Tyler, what's happening?" she asks as she slowly stands up. He looks like he's in pain. She wants to get near him, wants to calm him down but she's afraid. She backs away instead. She's having flashbacks of a snarling wolf on top of her. She still remembers the feel of its hot breath on her face as it growled at her from her position when she had been pinned down beneath him. That wolf had been Mason. Tyler's uncle. Is Tyler going to turn into a wolf right here? Why is he making those sounds? What's wrong with him? What's happening to him?

"Get away. Get AWAY!" is the only response that she gets and it only serves to scare her even more but she doesn't back away from him.

This can't be happening. It's not fair. It was an accident. It's not his fault. If this happens, then that means that Tyler's life is changed forever. It means his life is ruined. She wants him to tell her that he's fine. She wants to know that he hasn't just joined her in the world of the supernatural.

"What's happening!" she demands again, her voice filled with fear.

"Ahhh!" the only response she gets from him however but she doesn't need anything more after that because his head suddenly snaps upwards and Caroline's already wide eyes nearly pop out of their sockets and she steps back as the fear and worry that had filled her now turn to horror and despair.

Because when he looks up at her, Tyler's eyes are glowing gold.

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><p>AN: Okay, I know this is just a recap of what we've already seen but I wanted to emphasize Caroline's feelings when all this was going on. Next chapter will be better, I promise. I'll try to get it up soon.<p>

-Crimson Breeze


	2. Cover up

She stands there, petrified as his eyes flash from an ambery gold to the familiar brown that she knows in the dim light of the room. Every single nerve in her body is screaming at her to _run_. To get far, far away from him. Because he's dangerous. He's a threat to her. Somehow, she just knows this. There are alarms going off in her head with the word _DANGER _flashing in red.

She doesn't know if it's the fear that keeps her in place or if it's something else. There is a part of her- a very small part- that is captivated by his eyes. Not because of the inhuman color but because… he looks scared. The eyes that she sees aren't the eyes of a blood thirsty beast. They're the eyes of a frightened child. There's a desperation there. He doesn't look like he's about to hurt anyone even though she knows that he can. He looks innocent.

She sucks in a breath and lets it out slowly as when his eyes finally stop flashing and return back to their original chocolate brown color. She stands completely still has he slams his fist against the floor and lets his head drop, hiding his face from her view. Her skin continues to prickle, all her senses on high alert as he clumsily gets back onto his feet and pushes himself against the wall, breathing hard.

Caroline is sure that out of the two of them, Tyler is the one that looks more frightened. He's staring at Sarah's unmoving form on the floor, his face contorted with despair. She continues to watch him as he stares at Sarah's body, she's still too scared to move as his breathing becomes steadier and he begins to look a little bit calmer.

She isn't sure how long she stands there just watching him but she's sure that it isn't as long as it seems. As she stares at him however, something changes. The look on his face and the desperation in his voice seem so familiar to her and she doesn't understand why. As she watches him breathe with his back still pressed against the wall she begins to have more flashbacks.

She remembers herself slamming a nurse against the wall, remembers feeling the stretch of her skin as the veins began to manifest.

"You can't tell anyone!" she remembers ordering the nurse desperately.

She remembers the horror she had felt when she had seen her face changed for the first time, remember the sharp pain in her gums and the way that it had made her scream the first time her fangs had come out. She remembers the fear and humiliation she had gone through at the hospital when she kept wanting to drink blood; when the once nauseating smell of blood because so irresistibly delightful to her senses. She remembers wondering what the hell is happening to her, remembers how she felt so strong and so helpless at the same time.

She remembers wanting to bite into anyone and everyone. She remembers how she had lost control and drank that nameless boy's blood until he stopped moving, until his heart stopped beating, and how after he was dead, she had only craved more. She remembers the shame and the overwhelming guilt that had washed over her when she realized that she had actually_ killed_ someone. She remembers how she became a monster.

And as she stares at Tyler, she sees those same emotions flashing in his eyes. He has the same looks on his face.

And she knows.

She knows exactly what he's going through, knows exactly what he's feeling because just a few weeks ago, she had gone through the same thing. She's still going through it, still getting the hang of it. She looks at him and she sees a distorted version of herself. It's like looking in a mirror. Only instead of physical features, she sees her emotions right in front of her.

Caroline doesn't know anything about werewolves but she knows that Tyler's life has now changed forever. His physical features no longer show the signs of his lycanthropy but she knows that he knows. He's different now. Something in him has changed. She's seen it and she knows that he feels it because otherwise, he would not be staring at Sarah's dead body the way he is right now.

It's not his fault. That's all Caroline can think. It's not his fault and it isn't fair. He didn't mean to. It was an accident. She fell. It's not Tyler's fault that she tripped. Ok, so what if he pushed her. It was reflex. If someone came at you with knife, or a letter opener or any other sharp, pointy object and jammed it in your chest, you'd push that person away too. It's not fair! Don't do this to him! Don't let this happen to him.

"_As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone, he won't turn."_ Jeremy's voice echoes in her head, repeating the sentence over and over and over again.

It was Katherine! She compelled Matt and Sarah to attack Tyler! She was trying to force him into killing one of them. It's not his fault! This shouldn't count! It's not his fault!

She doesn't know who she's yelling at. She doesn't know if life or fate or whatever God or Gods are up there are listening or if they're just playing some messed up game with her and maybe with Tyler, too. Maybe higher power is just messing with all of them. She doesn't know and she doesn't care.

All her fear dissipates as she stares at him and her instinct to run turns into something else. All she wants to do is help him. Because no matter what might lie ahead for him, this is not his fault. The rest of the universe might blame him for Sarah's death but she will not. Because even though this might have triggered his curse- she knows she's in denial but she doesn't give a damn at the moment that it's obvious what has happened to him- she will always blame Katherine for this.

She wonders if Damon and Stefan have killed her yet. Wonders if she goes back upstairs and asks really nicely they'll let her stake the bitch herself. For ruining her life. For ruining Tyler's life. And Stefan's, and Elena's and even Damon's and for trying to kill Jenna and who knows how many other people she's used, killed and thrown away.

No.

It doesn't matter because what's done is done. What's important is the boy standing in front of her. He no longer sounds like he's having an asthma attack but he's still freaking out. Big time. She has to do something about this. She has to help him somehow.

Her muscles begin to work again and in two quick strides, she's standing in front of him.

"Tyler." Her voice is a little shaky, and she hears her own fear and despair because even though she knows what she wants to do, she actually has no idea how to actually do it. She's just winging it here but there's no one else around to help her.

"Tyler, look at me! You need to calm down!" she says as she grips his arms and gives him a slight shake in order to get his attention.

"She's dead." Tyler says shakily.

"I-I killed her! I killed her and you want me to calm down?" he says as he finally looks away from Sarah's prone form on the floor to stare into Caroline's eyes. She thinks she sees tiny specks of amber mix in with the brown but it's gone when she blinks.

"You-you didn't kill her. You didn't mean to! You just- it... it was an accident, okay? It's not your fault!" she's stuttering and her voice is shaking. She's scared again but this time, she's scared for him.

"Not my fault?" he exclaims, as his eyes bulge. His breathing has become labored again and she can hear his heart pounding. She can smell the warm blood rushing through his veins, can feel it pulsing through body underneath the expensive clothes. Not good. Too much blood. But she doesn't wanna leave him like this. Not when he's so scared and so, so alone. She has Stefan. There's no one around to help Tyler. His uncle's dead and as far as she knows, there aren't any other werewolves around.

"Come-come here." She says as she pulls him away from the wall and half drags him to the leather couch. She puts her hands on his shoulders and forces him to sit down. He makes no moves to resist her as she does this; his arms seem to have gone limp and the dangle slightly as she sits him down. She gets down on the floor in front of him and stands on her knees so that she can be eye level with him, keeping her hands on his shoulders.

"Tyler. Tyler, listen to me. Breathe, okay, breathe. Just calm down and breathe." He looks at her, panicked and she takes deep breathes while she squeezes his shoulders in an effort to calm him down. It doesn't seem to work though and he looks like he can't breathe. He begins to pull at his collar and yank on his tie as he takes in short, quick gasps of air. His hands are shaking.

"Here. Here, let me." She says as she bats his hands away and quickly undoes his tie, pulling it from around his neck in one quick tug, the tie is in her hands. He immediately begins to pull at his collar again and again, she pushes his hand away and undoes the first two buttons of his shirt. He's stopped bleeding she realizes. The strong smell of his blood is quickly diminishing back to the point where it doesn't make her have to fight the urge to lick his open wound. What seemed like a very deep stab is almost completely healed, she realizes. A human couldn't possibly heal that fast. But a werewolf certainly could.

"Tyler. Tyler, slow down. Deep breaths. Breathe slowly." She tells him, trying to control her own panic as she grips his shoulders again.

Eventually, he calms down. She stays there with him, standing on her knees in front of him and rubbing her hands up and down his arms as he takes deep breaths. They stay that way for a while and the only sound in the room is Tyler's deep breathing until Caroline hears a groan behind her.

Tyler's head snaps up, his eyes alert and somewhat fearful as Caroline slowly turns her head to look at who had made the sound.

They both watch as Matt rolls over on to his side and slowly stumbles to his feet. All the alcohol he'd been drinking all night seems to be taking its toll on him and he groans again as he stumbles and bumps into the wall when he gets up.

"Ugh, what happened?" he questions as he brings a hand to his head.

Caroline looks at him for a moment before she turns her head back to Tyler and gives his arm a small squeeze. He doesn't seem to notice it though. His eyes are locked on Matt. For a moment, Caroline worries that he'll blame Matt for this but Tyler doesn't look angry at all. Sadness and regret are written all over his face but he doesn't look the slightest bit angry. She squeezes his arm again, a little harder this time just to get some sort of reaction out of him but he doesn't look at her and gives no indication that she's there at all. Worry begins to bubble up in her again.

Matt turns around and his eyes land on the two of them.

"Guys? What's going on? What happened? Why is Sarah on the floor?" He asks after he looks around the room.

It's then that Tyler finally looks at Caroline again, his eyes asking her how he's supposed to tell Matt that he's just killed someone.

Caroline's lips press together in a thin line as she lets out a small huff through her nose.

He wants to tell Matt that he's just killed someone? Well, too bad. That's not going to happen. She is not going to paint him as some kind of murderer. And she's not going to let him do that to himself either. He's the victim here. So is Matt. So is Sarah. Well, so was Sarah, Caroline thinks sadly. It's Katherine that's the killer, not Tyler. She's not going to let that bitch ruin his life. Well, no more than she already has.

She squeezes Tyler's arm one more time and gives him a reassuring look as she stands up. He acknowledges her this time and watches her as she walks up to Matt.

Matt stares at her in confusion when she comes to stop in front of him and she can see the grim look on her face reflected in his eyes.

"Care?" he questions slowly, he smells like alcohol and blood.

"What's going on?" he asks again as his hand comes up to his face.

"And what is this…" he stops as he pulls his hand away from his face and stares at the blood on his fingers. He's stopped bleeding and most of the blood has dried up above his lips.

"What the hell?" he questions as he looks at his hand in confusion.

"What happened? What's going on here, you guys? What's wrong with Sarah?" he asks again.

Caroline turns her head slightly to glance at Tyler and she sees him look down at the floor with guilty eyes as he clasps his hands together in front of him.

"Sarah…hit her head." Caroline finally responds to Matt's questions. She has to get him out of here. She doesn't want him to know anything. It'll only put him in danger and he's been in more than enough danger tonight. He's the one that was supposed to die tonight. Sarah was just the back up. A small part of Caroline wants to know why in the world Katherine would want to trigger Tyler's curse but in the face of her current situation, the questions seems trivial.

"Well then, we should call a doctor. She might have a concussion or something-" he begins but Caroline cuts him off.

"She doesn't have a concussion." Caroline says softly.

"But she's unconscious! We have to help her-" Matt begins as panic and worry make their way into his voice but Caroline cuts him off again.

"She's not unconscious, Matt." Caroline says in an even smaller voice as she turns after Matt, purposely not looking at Sarah's fallen form on the floor in front of her. She watches as Tyler puts his head in his hands. He looks like he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Matt turns to look at her and gives her a look that says what-the-fuck before he quickly turns his attention to Tyler.

"We were fighting…" He begins slowly, causing Tyler to slowly look up at him.

"We were fighting and I hit my head…" he says as Tyler watches him, saying nothing. Matt's waiting for Tyler to respond but Tyler says nothing. His lips stay pressed together in a thin line and he still looks like he's got something very heavy on his shoulders.

"What happened after that?" Matt questions when Tyler continues to stay silent. At this, Tyler looks away from Matt and turns his head to look at Sarah's body once again. The sound of his breathing doesn't fill the room anymore. He is completely silent.

"Will one of you please tell me what's going on?" Matt asks, agitation filling his voice as he turns his attention back to Caroline.

Caroline spots a tissue box on a shelf and walked over to it. She grabbed a few tissues out of the box and quickly walks back over to Matt as she balls the tissues up in her hand. When she gets to him, she holds her breath and begins to dab at the blood beneath his nose, being careful not to get any on her fingers as he looks at her in confusion. When he realizes that she isn't going to answer his question, he slaps her hand away from his face.

"Care, what the hell!" he demands as he brought his arm up and wiped away the little blood that remained on his face. Caroline lowers the arm that Matt has just swatted away and she slowly walks over to the trash bin by the book case and let the half bloody ball of tissue fall into the cluster of crumpled papers below as Matt begins to speak again.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about Sarah? She's passed out on the floor, we should wake her up. If she hit her head, then-"

"She doesn't need a doctor Matt."

"_Caroline-_" Matt begins, sounding extremely annoyed.

"She's dead, Matt." It's Tyler who interrupts this time.

Something sinks in the pit of Caroline's stomach as she turns her head to Tyler slowly. Matt's head whips around to gape at Tyler.

"_What?"_

Tyler opens his mouth but then he closes it again and looks back at Sarah.

"What do you mean, she's dead? You guys, this isn't funny." Matt says as he begins to walk over to Sarah but he stumbles and has to grab the back of the couch to steady himself.

"I must be dreaming." He says as he tries to stand without the help of the couch but he wobbles slightly.

Caroline decides that she has had enough as she watches Matt try to walk toward Sarah and while Tyler watches Matt with a look of despair on his face.

She walks over to Matt and curls her fingers around his arm.

"Matt, come on. Come with me." He doesn't seem to remember how he'd gotten knocked out and that's a good thing. The less people that actually know about what happened here, the better.

"No." Matt says as he weakly tries to pull out of her grasp and go to Sarah but then he suddenly stops. Then he turns around and bolts for the waste basket. He falls to his knees in a few quick strides and pulls it toward him and under his chin before he vomits into it.

Caroline and Tyler look at each other. Tyler breaks the gaze first and then Caroline makes her way over to Matt and rubs his back until he stops retching and then she pulls him back up onto his feet. He looks like he's on the verge of passing out as he stands completely still with drooping eyes. She decides that it would be best to get him out of here before anything else.

"Come on, Matt." She says again and this time, he complies. He seems to be half asleep already as she leads him to the door.

"Tyler." She says softly, afraid that if she speaks too loudly someone will overhear and figure everything out. He lifts his head out of his hands and looks at her with wide eyes that look completely lost and her heart aches. It just isn't fair.

He's blaming himself. He shouldn't be. It's not his fault. She wants to tell him everything but she isn't sure that's the best idea. Plus, she wouldn't even know where to begin.

Stefan. Stefan would know what to do. She needs to talk to Stefan. He'll know how to fix this. He'll be able to help Tyler after all, he had saved her and helped her when her world was spinning faster than the speed of light and crashing down all around her. She wonders if he's still here. But even if he is, he'll probably want to be with Elena tonight. She's on her own at the moment.

"I'll be right back, okay. Don't go anywhere and I'll…" She'll what? What the hell is she going to do? How is she supposed to handle this messed up situation?

"I'll take care of this." She catches the look of utter confusion on Tyler's face but she doesn't stay to hear his response as she feels Matt's weight pressing against her. She takes him outside and lays him down in the back seat of her car, doing her best to make him as comfortable as can be on a car seat. He's already asleep before she even shuts the door.

She turns around and lets out a heavy sigh as she leans against her car. What is she going to do? What's going to happen to Tyler now? How's he gonna react when he find out about Katherine and her and Stefan and Damon and Mason? Oh god, Mason. He's going to freak out. He'll never understand. He'll never calm down enough to listen to them explain so that he can understand. How do you accept the fact that your family's been murdered for a just cause. If it can be called just. From the little that she's been told about Damon and Mason's spat, Damon was the one that started it. She isn't sure why and at the moment, she doesn't care. All she knows is that Tyler's suddenly become the new werewolf in town and she is not happy about it. And she's sure that Damon isn't going to be too thrilled about it either.

Think, think, she had to think! People can't find out about this. Tyler can't tell anyone about his curse. If the Council finds out about werewolves, they'll just start asking more questions and those questions will lead to more investigations and besides, Mrs. Lockwood is not going to just be able to accept the fact that her son turns into a wolf once a month without having some kind of panic attack. Caroline remembers all too well the way her mother hadn't even been able to look at her when she had found out that Caroline was a vampire. It is one of the most horrible things she's ever felt. She doesn't want that to happen to Tyler. She doesn't want him to go through that. She doesn't want him to feel the way she did.

She takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She knows what she has to do. She just hopes that she will be able to pull it off.

As Caroline walks back into the house, she realizes that most of the guests have left already. There are a few people mingling in corners but they've pulled their masks off and have become half lidded with sleep and drunkenness and in some cases, lust. How long had they been in there? The house had been full of people when Caroline had first heard Matt and Tyler fighting.

After walking around the house for a little while, Caroline finally finds Mrs. Lockwood saying goodbye to some guests at the front door. She smiles as Caroline walks up to her.

"Caroline, sweetheart, you look beautiful! I'm so glad I didn't miss you on your way out. Did you enjoy the party?"

A small smile tugs at the corners of Caroline's lips at the warm hearted compliment but she's too nervous to be her usual preppy self and the mayor quickly notices this.

"Honey, is something wrong?" she asks as Caroline comes to a stop in front of her.

"I…" Caroline trails off. She has no idea how to go about this but she knows she has to think quickly otherwise, she'll give something away.

"It's Sarah. I don't know what happened. She-she hit her head or something and she wouldn't wake up and now-" Caroline doesn't have to work very hard to make her voice sound frightened. She's genuinely scared but not for the reason that she's giving to the woman in front of her.

"Slow down. Where is she?" Mrs. Lockwood asks and Caroline leads her to the study where they both find Tyler in the exact same position he had been in when she had left. He's sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands.

"Tyler?" Mrs. Lockwood asks and Tyler's head snaps up. He's quickly on his feet.

"Mom, I-" he begins but she cuts him off as she kneels next to Sarah.

"What happened?" she asks as she tries to gently shake Sarah into wakefulness not realizing that she's not passed out. She turns her head back to look at Tyler.

"You know you're not supposed to be in here." She says and there's a hint of anger in her voice.

"I know. I'm sorry but this is more important. Sarah-" he begins.

"It was my fault!" Caroline interrupts suddenly, not wanting Tyler to tell his mother anything about his curse.

The mother and son both look at her in surprise.

Caroline opens her mouth as she tries to make up something believable that won't make Tyler seem suspect.

"I…I was having an argument with Matt and-and Tyler didn't want us to make a scene in front of all the other guests so he brought us in here because we were yelling at each other and he was just trying to calm us both down and then Sarah heard us fighting so she came in but she was drinking. We-we weren't paying that much attention to her and then Matt walked out and we were about to go after him but then Sarah fell and she wouldn't answer us when we asked her if she was ok and then we couldn't get her to wake up and then we realized…" Caroline trails off as she looks at Sarah hoping that she's succeeding in making herself look distressed.

Mrs. Lockwood's confused look turns to one of dread as she kneels down next to Sarah again.

"Oh, my god." she whispers as she presses her fingers to Sarah's neck.

"Oh, no." she says as she pulls her hand away from Sarah neck and covers her mouth. Caroline looks away from her to look at Tyler and she sees that he's looking back at her with a look that asks what-the-hell are-you-doing? His face is a mixture of confusion, dread and apprehension but he doesn't look at all relieved about her lie. He just looks confused. And scared but most confused.

Caroline hopes he won't speak up as his mother turns around wringing her hands together.

"Okay. Okay, I…I have to call the sheriff. I- I'll be right back." It's the first time that Caroline's ever seen her look so nervous. Both teens say nothing as the older woman quickly walks out of the room.

"Listen," Caroline begins as soon as she's sure that Mrs. Lockwood is out of earshot.

"Just…just go with me ok? Let me handle this. I promise you won't get in any trouble and it'll be ok and-"

"When in the hell would you wanna handle this?" Tyler interrupts look at her like she's crazy. And it's then that Caroline realizes that while she knows what's just happened to him, he has no clue what she is or why she's doing this. For the most part, he's completely clueless. Caroline isn't sure if this is a good or a bad thing. She sucks in a breath and quickly lets it out.

"Please, Tyler." She says as she takes a step closer to him and reaches out for him.

"I…I know that this all seems really confusing right now but please, just trust me." She says as she gently wraps her fingers around his wrist and gives him a quick squeeze. He looks down at her hand on his wrist looking even more confused and also a little bit uncomfortable. She pulls her hand back and he looks up at her face. He's about to speak when his mother walks back into the room.

'Tyler, I need you to go outside and wait for the sheriff." She says as she walks back in.

Tyler opens his mouth and looks like he's about to say no but his mother doesn't give him the chance.

"Now." She orders and something in the tone of her voice makes Caroline feel a little bit scared.

Tyler closes his mouth and with one last nervous look at Caroline, he walks out of the room.

With a sigh, Mrs. Lockwood walks up to Caroline and speaks in a gentler tone.

"Caroline, tell me what happened." She says gently. She doesn't seem angry but she does look extremely distressed. She looks nervous and even a little bit scared. Caroline feels bad for her. She's had a rough few months and she feels bad that she's lying to this woman because Caroline likes Mrs. Lockwood a lot. Still, it'll probably be less stressful for her to think that this was just some freak accident rather than find out that her son is cursed and that he accidently killed this girl.

Caroline begins to ramble as she tries to make up a story that won't sound too farfetched. It doesn't really seem like Mrs. Lockwood is going to ask her too many questions however. She just looks really worried.

"Matt and I were fight. We broke up, you know, and Sarah was drunk and dancing and she-she just tripped. Then she wasn't breathing." Caroline says hoping that she looks believable.

"Okay, well, your mom's on her way and- and we called Sarah's parents. It was an accident. It was a terrible, tragic accident."

Caroline nods quickly as the mayor tries to console Caroline and herself because this is a complete disaster.

"Mom." They both turn to Tyler. Caroline had heard him come in. He had listened to the end of the story before making his presence known.

"The sheriff's here." He says and Mrs. Lockwood sighs as she looks at Sarah again before she begins to walk away.

"I'll go prepare her just don't leave. Just stay here, okay? She's going to wanna hear the story from you." She says to Caroline and after one quick look at Tyler, she leaves.

Tyler shots Caroline a look and Caroline find herself looking down and then back up at him. She's nervous. He hasn't said anything since she asked him to let her handle this. It seems that he's going with it as she asked. He walks past her into the room and Caroline finds herself wanting to do something to make him calmer.

He isn't hyperventilating anymore and he's stopped bleeding completely. She knows that he's fully healed but she's sure that his head is spinning. She can see the tenseness in his shoulders as he walks past her and the turmoil in his eyes.

He's stuck with this now and there's nothing she can do to change it. She sighs and then she turns around to see him looking over Sarah's body.

"Matt's in the car, sleeping it off." She begins and he turns his head and looks at her as she continues.

"I'll deal with him I… don't want him involved in any of this."

He walks up to her then.

"What are you doing?" he asks her, his voice almost a whisper.

Isn't it obvious to him by now?

"I'm… fixing a very bad situation." She responds, hoping he won't suddenly decide to tell they parents the truth.

"Why? I did this**. I** killed her."

"No!" she says immediately, still hating the fact that he's somehow managed to get tangled up in the mess that Katherine has created.

"You didn't mean to. And I think it's best for everyone-"she says as she looks into his eyes, relieved that they're completely brown.

"But she's dead! You don't know what that means." He says with a shake of his head.

He really doesn't know anything Caroline realizes. It only makes him seem like more of a victim in her eyes. He's still blaming himself and Caroline knows that he's going to go on blaming himself because accident or no, you can't just kill someone and never think about it again. She knows that all too well but she isn't going to let this define him. It's not his fault. He's had more than enough for one night though and she isn't going to explain to him how and why she knows what she knows but at the same time she wants him to understand that she gets what he going through. She knows exactly what all of this means for him.

"Actually, Tyler, I think I do."

He just shakes his head.

"No, you don't, Caroline."

She looks at his chest where her sharp eyes can make out the dark outline of the blood on his jacket.

"Has your wound healed?" she asks with a nod towards his chest.

It's then that Tyler seems to remember that he'd been wounded. He looks down at his chest and she watches as he undoes a few more buttons to look at the place where Sarah had stabbed him. His brow furrows and he reaches his hand into his shirt and Caroline already knows that there's no trace of the stab left on his skin. Tyler looks up at her in awe.

"How did you…" he trails off. She says nothing. Just stares at him and gives him a look that says that she knows. He is no longer looking at her as if she doesn't understand. His look of confusion is back but there's something else in his eyes. Maybe now, he'll trust her. Caroline hopes that it's enough. She hopes that he'll believe that she will keep this secret.

He's about to speak again when the Sheriff suddenly hurries in.

"Caroline!" They both turn their heads as Liz almost runs to her daughter and grips her arms with Mrs. Lockwood coming into the room right behind her.

"Are you alright? What happened here?"

"Mom!" Caroline says holding her hands up as she tries to reassure her mother.

"I'm fine. It's Sarah. She hit her head and something happened to her."

Caroline repeats the story she had told Mrs. Lockwood to her mother as Tyler stands behind her. The entire time she's talking, she can feel his eyes burning into her back. She knows that she should tell him more. He deserves the truth but it can wait. He's had more than enough for one night.

She leaves after her mother is done taking her statement and she's out the door before Tyler has a chance to say anything to her.

There's a heaviness in her chest as she drives Matt home. She replays the events of tonight over and over again in hear head, hating that she hadn't been able to stop Sarah, hating that one of them hadn't thought to keep an eye on Tyler just in case.

Caroline digs Matt's keys out of his pocket and lets them both into the house. She tries to leave after Matt is tucked snugly in his own bed and sleeping soundly but there's something else that's weighing down on her.

"Matt failed. And if Matt fails, I can't."

It was supposed to be Matt. Matt was the one that was supposed to die tonight. Caroline feels tears prick her eyes as she gently strokes his face. He looks so peaceful and handsome as he sleeps. TO think she almost lost him tonight. She shuts her eyes tightly as she remembers the way he had looked under Katherine's compulsion, his face twisted into something angry and hell bent.

She knows that she shouldn't be here but she can't bring herself to leave. She misses him so much. She's not going to get a chance to be with him like this again. She loves him too much to risk being with him. She still remembers the delicious taste of his blood and the sudden desire that erupts in her scares her. Just thinking about it makes her mouth water. She wants to bite him.

No. She pushes the urge down and strokes his face one more time. There's something she has to say to him and she knows that he's asleep and he won't hear it but she doesn't want him to hear it. She just needs to say it.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you like this. I swear, I never meant to. I never wanted any of this to happen. I wanted to be with you. I still do but I can't handle the thought that I might hurt you. Because there's a part of me that wants to. I'm sorry, Matt. This is for your own good. Just know that I love you. I love you so much."

She feels tears sting her eyes but she shuts her eyes tightly in an attempt to keep them from falling. She can't cry. He's not hers anymore and she needs to let him go. But she doesn't want to. She wants to curl up next to him and fall asleep. But she can't do that either. No matter how much she might want to. It's not safe for him and she loves him too much to put him in any kind of danger. And she's dangerous. So instead of laying down next to him, she stokes his face one more time before she gets out of his house as fast as she can.

By the time she gets home, she's managed to push thoughts of Matt to the back of her mind. She wants to call Stefan. She has no idea what she's supposed to do about this. Katherine's out of the picture so Matt is safe but what about Tyler. He's a werewolf now. What's going to happen now? Are they going to help him? How are they supposed to help him? Does he even need help? She knows that she needed help.

She debates calling Stefan as she changes into her pajamas and she twirls her phone around in her hands. He's probably with Elena. She decides not to bother them tonight. They deserve a break after everything they've been dealing with. She decides that she'll call Stefan in the morning and buries herself under her covers, eventually falling into a fitful slumber.


	3. A Dream of Death

Caroline stands in the middle of a line that consists of three people. In front of her is Sarah and behind her is Matt. They're both on the floor and Caroline begins to panic when she realizes that she's the only one standing. The only thing that keeps her from screaming is the knowledge that Matt isn't dead.

Tyler's there. He's standing next to Sarah but he isn't part of the line. He's standing a little bit off to the side, isolated. He's alone and he's staring down at Sarah, looking frightened and desperate. Caroline feels the same way.

"Well, well. Look what we have here."

Caroline and Tyler both whip their heads in the direction of the door through which Katherine has just walked into the study.

"Seems like I missed the best part of the show. Oh well. It can't be helped I guess." She says as she walks towards Tyler twirling a stake in her hand. It's the same stake that Alaric had been using earlier that day when he was showing Stefan and Damon his vampire hunting gear. Her fear had escalated as soon as Katherine had walked into the room but now, Caroline is petrified with sheer terror. What is Katherine doing here? Where are Stefan and Damon? What did she do to them?

"Elena?" Tyler questions, confused as Katherine saunters towards him. She smiles at him.

"Mmm, mmm. Nope. Try again." She says in a somewhat teasing voice as she stalks closer and closer.

Caroline is too shocked to speak and too frightened to move even when Katherine stops right in front of Tyler but as soon as she places her finger on his chest, Caroline's fear for herself turns into worry and fear for Tyler and she regains her mobility and her voice again.

"Tyler, get back! That's not Elena-" she says as she begins to move toward them but she isn't able to continue because suddenly Katherine is in front of her and has her hand clamped around Caroline's neck.

Caroline barely has time to gasp as she watches Katherine's face which is twisted in anger before being hurled into the doors behind her.

Her head bangs hard against the wood of the French doors behind her from the force of Katherine's throw and she cries out as she slumps down feeling panicked and frightened.

"Caroline!"

Tyler begins to walk towards her but Katherine grabs his wrist effectively stopping him in his tracks.

Tyler's head whips around to glare at her.

"What the hell are you doing, Elena?" he demands looking pissed off.

An irritated look comes over Katherine's face at his question.

"I told you," she begins in a voice of controlled annoyance.

"I'm not Elena. My name is Katherine. I'm a friend of your uncle's, actually."

This gets Tyler's attention and his brow furrows in confusion as the anger leaves his face. Caroline wants to get up and pull Tyler away from her. How did she get out of the room? Where are Damon and Stefan? What is she doing here? What does she want with Tyler?

And then Caroline realizes that none of those questions matter right now. Katherine is here and all that's important now is to get Tyler away from her before she kills him.

But for some reason, she can't seem to move. Her body feels heavy and everything hurts. Her arms feel like lead and her legs feel like jello. She feels like there's some kind of invisible force pushing down onto her body. She can't stand up. Her vision is slightly fuzzy and she doesn't know if she'll even be able to speak.

"You know my uncle?" Tyler questions Katherine.

Weakly, Caroline raises her head to look up at him as he looks at Katherine who still has her fingers wrapped around his wrist.

Katherine's head tilts to the side as that smile that Caroline has come to recognize spreads across her face. It's that look that tells her that Katherine has a plan that's going to give her a great deal of amusement and cause everyone else just as much misery.

"Hm." Katherine says as she lets go of Tyler wrist to slowly trail her hand up his arm as she turns his around so that he's fully facing her. Her hand stops when it comes to rest on his shoulder and she brings her other hand up to lay her palm flat against his chest. Caroline is terrified that any second she's just going to sink her fangs into his neck and she feels a scream get caught in her throat as her heart begins to pound in her chest.

She doesn't bite him though. Instead, she begins to trail her index finger over his chest as her voice takes on a seductive tone.

"You Lockwood men. You have the nicest bodies. So muscular and well-toned. As if that wasn't attractive enough, you're extremely good looking." As she says this, the hand that she had resting on his shoulder begins to cup his cheek. This is where Tyler draws the line.

"Ok,"

Looking completely weirded out and a little bit annoyed, he leans away from her, as his hand comes up to wrap around her wrist and pull her hand away from his face.

"I don't know what you think you're pulling here but it's not funny."

Katherine's brow furrows now and she speaks before Tyler can say anything else.

"Don't you find me attractive, Tyler?" Her left hand is still tracing patterns on his chest as she takes another step closer to him, leaving almost no space at all between them.

"Don't you want me?" She questions in a tone that says that she doesn't need to hear the answer because it's obviously yes.

Tyler looks at her as if she's just said the most absurd thing in the world. And his other hand comes up to slap her hand away from his chest as he steps back.

"No, I don't!" He really is angry now and he's not bothering to hide it.

"What are you doing here and what do you want?" he demands but there's a very slight tremor in his voice. He's still a little freaked over Sarah. Katherine sighs.

"You really don't know anything do you? You're so innocent. Or at least, you were. But that's over now though, isn't it?" She says as she looks behind Tyler to Sarah's prone form on the floor. Then she turns her head to look down at something on the floor. Caroline can't see what Katherine's looking at because the desk is blocking her but she feels her mouth begin to water as Katherine bends down and picks up the letter opener that Sarah had stabbed Tyler with. The tip of the brass knife is still dripping with Tyler's blood. She should try to lunge for it because it smells so good but there's still that invisible force pushing her down and she's still too terrified to let her hunger take over.

"Ahh" Katherine sighs out as her eyes turn red and the veins appear on her face. She sticks her tongue out and licks some of the blood off the knife.

"What the hell!" Tyler only begins to stumble backwards before Katherine grabs his wrist again, keeping him in place and he freaks out even more. He tries in vain to yank his arm away from her, all the while demanding to know what the hell she is and she goes on ignoring him and takes her time slowly licking the rest of his blood off the knife. She doesn't seem to have any trouble at all maintaining her grip on his arm even as he struggles against her with what looks like all of his might. When she's done, she turns to him.

"Don't worry, I'll explain everything. I have so much to tell you." She says the last part with a wicked smile that makes Caroline's stomach turn.

"But first!" and now Katherine turns her attention to Caroline with a glare. Caroline feels her body begin to tremble. She knows that tone and she knows that look. It's that look that Katherine always had when she was threatening her and giving her orders that Caroline wished she didn't have to follow.

"You tried to kill me." She tells Caroline with a smile that promises horrible things as she begins to walk towards Matt, twirling the letter opener in her hand as she keeps her gaze locked with Caroline's. At this point, Caroline is utterly petrified.

"I told you what would happen if you crossed me, Caroline. You just didn't want to listen, though did you? Maybe you just didn't believe me? Now, I have no choice but to teach you a lesson. Unlike Damon, you're going to find out that I actually deliver on my threats." She says as she looks down at Matt's unconscious body.

"No." Caroline manages to whimper out as tears form in her eyes.

"No, please, no. I'm sorry. Please, don't hurt him." She tried to reach her arm out but it still feels like lead and there's still a ton of weight pressing down on her body.

"Hmm, too late." Katherine tells her with an evil smile as she looks down at Matt.

"What are you doing?" Tyler questions from behind her. She still hasn't let go of his wrist.

A thoughtful looks comes across Katherine's face now and she turns to Tyler.

"Or maybe you'd like to do the honors." Tyler only looks at her in confusion and tries to pull away from her again but once, again, his efforts are futile.

"Just in case." Katherine says as she stares at Tyler.

"Just to be absolutely sure that things are going as planned."

"Let me go!" He demands even as she continues to stare at him as she thinks out loud.

"Oh, calm down already. Eventually, you're going to start enjoying this. So why not let me give you a crash course in supernatural 101?"

"What the HELL are you talking about!" Tyler's practically screaming in her face now.

"What ARE you?" Katherine only sighs before she pushes the letter opener into his hand and forces his fingers around it so that he's grasping it tightly.

"Now, come here." She squats down next to Matt and doesn't even bat an eyelash as Tyler, still struggling and trying to pull away from her, slams down on his knees next to her with a thud.

"What the hell are you doing, you crazy bitch? Let go of me!" But he still can't pull away from her and Katherine only rolls her eyes as she brings her hand which is clasped around his, up high into the air, right above Matt's chest. Caroline immediately knows what she's planning and she feels tears begin to drip from her eyes.

"Please, Katherine, no." She tries to shake herself free of the invisible weight, tries with all the force she can muster to break free but it's still holding her back and she can't move even as Matt lies helpless just a few feet in front of her.

"No. Please, please no. Matt, no." She's begging now but Katherine ignores her pleas, choosing instead to smirk at Caroline, looking extremely satisfied and Caroline can see her own tear streaked reflection in Katherine's eyes.

At this point, Tyler has realized what Katherine plans to do and he's doing everything he can to yank his arm away from her but it isn't moving an inch.

"Stop it! No! I'm not doing this! Let me go! Let go!"

"No. No."

Katherine raises Tyler's arm up just a little bit higher, the sharp point of the letter opener aimed directly at Matt's heart, and then she slams it downwards with enough force that Tyler isn't able to even try to pull away.

"NO!" Caroline and Tyler both yell out and she slumps forward onto her arms and elbows, her face mere inches from the floor as the invisible force suddenly disappears as a fountain of blood bursts forth from Matt chest. It splashes all over Katherine's hand which is still gripping Tyler's and most of their forearms as well. Matt's white shirt becomes red almost instantly and some of the drops splatter on the polished wood right in front of Caroline.

Caroline doesn't care. She can't breathe. Matt's dead. Katherine just forced Tyler to kill Matt. She thinks she's going to puke.

Matt's dead.

Sobbing, she looks up at the slightly in front of her, barely able to see anything through her tears. Tyler has stopped struggling. He isn't yelling anymore even though Katherine's hand is still wrapped around his and is still forcing him to grip the letter opener that is now lodged in Matt's chest. He's staring at his hand, covered in Matt's blood with a look of utter horror on his face.

Katherine begins to giggle. It starts out small but it gets louder as she begins to out right laugh. Tyler doesn't react. He doesn't seem to hear her at all. It's as if she isn't even there anymore. He goes on staring his hand and the blood on Matt's chest with wide eyes. Caroline sobs but she can't feel the tears streaming down her cheeks and she can't her herself crying. All she can hear is Katherine's laughter. It echoes off the walls and fills her ears. It's as if she's laughing into a microphone. Caroline just wants it to stop. Suddenly she feels something drop down on the bridge of her nose, then she feels another drop land on top of her head, another on her shoulder, and another and another. What is it?

She tilts her head up and her eyes go wide.

The ceiling has splotches of read all over. They're like puddles over her head, getting bigger and bigger and connecting as they cover the span of the whole room. They reach the edges of the room and then the blood spills down the walls like a waterfall as more and more drops of it begin to fall onto the floor from above. Katherine's still laughing and Caroline remembers her words from earlier that day.

"I will rip this town apart until it rains blood."

Tyler's still staring at Matt with a stunned expression not even noticing the blood raining down around him and Caroline begins to whimper and tremble as Katherine's laughter gets even louder as she feels more tears stream down her checks. She wants to scream but her mouth won't open. All she can do is silently cry out in her mind.

.No.

"Caroline!"

"No!"

"Caroline!"

"NO!"

"Caroline, wake up!"

"NO!" And Caroline jolts up with a scream.

* * *

><p>Have I creeped anyone out? Lol. How awesome was the season three premiere. Ok this was actually only supposed to be a very small part of chapter three and the whole chapter was supposed to be much longer but I've been busy and I'll probably be busy for a while so I'm thinking it would be better if I just shorten the chapters so I can post a little more frequently. Or I could keep them long and post less often. If anyone has a preference let me know.<p>

Reviews make my day. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading.


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